As regular readers know, I write a free, twice monthly wine column that’s distributed to newspapers across the country.

These columns are hosted by Palate Press: The Online Wine Magazine. If you don’t see my column in your local newspaper, please send an email to your paper’s editor and CC me (David – at – Terroirist.com).

In my latest column, I look at the emotional component to wine appreciation — and explain why it shouldn’t be ignored.

Wine enthusiasts are always looking for an experience that’s completely arresting — a wine that stops you in your tracks, makes the room go silent, and just pulls you into the glass.

Sometimes, those wines are expensive — perhaps opened at an extravagant wine dinner where everyone brings a bottle to impress. Other times, they’re ordered at a restaurant when one hands the list back to the sommelier, requests an adventure, and is blown away by the results.

I’m electrified when these experiences happen with wines made by friends. I’m hardly alone in this sentiment.

A few weeks ago, Steve Matthiasson, a top vineyard consultant in Napa Valley and one of Food & Wine Magazine’s 2012 Winemakers of the Year, was asked about the wines that most excite him.

“Wines made by friends are number one,” he declared. “If it’s made by a friend, it tastes better.”

I first met Steve and his wife last February over lunch at their small vineyard in Napa. I sought them out after enjoying their 2010 white blend at a restaurant in San Francisco, and after our lunch together, I became an evangelist for their wines.

The Matthiasson’s entire portfolio is absolutely stunning. But it’d be disingenuous to claim that emotion doesn’t play a role in my appreciation for their wines. The fact is, there’s an emotional component to wine appreciation – and that shouldn’t be ignored.